Sunflower Colors
by EndlessCreativity
Summary: Being a squid-kid was already hard enough! Having to adapt as one of the few cephalopod shape-shifters in a giant group of fighters, old and new, was even harder! Now Orange has to deal with tournaments and the fighters, all while trying to figure out if she can survive to tell about her adventures! But maybe it won't be as bad as it seem after all...(Rare pairs)
1. Chapter 1: I Will Only Wake Up For Smash

**OH! M! G!**

**My first story in **_**years**! _**I can't believe it, I told myself to get back to writing but I kept putting it off...**

**Then I got older and here I am, posting it on my birthday no less, hehehe. There was a reason I wanted to do it on my birthday, so I could also kind-of force myself to start something new and stick with it as much as I can. Though no promises can be made, I am a third-year university student and taking six classes as of right now so yeah. But I will do my best to upload whenever I can.**

**Though I 'm sure you wanted to get started! So enjoy!**

**None of Super Smash Bros or any of its content belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 1:

Prologue/Early Risings And News

BEEP! BEEP BEEP!

"Uhhh…"

A hand shot out to stop the alarm, only to accidentally toss the device over the drawer it was on. The hand's owner hardly peeked out when the alarm hit the floor. The light from her bedroom was blinding and all she could do was curse the sun for merely existing. It was too early to be getting up so all the alarm's attacker could do was grumble under her breath. Owner of said alarm picked over to check the time.

7:30 AM.

She merely turned over and was about to get an extra five minutes of shut-eye when suddenly the door to her room slammed open. Causing her to jump and see who the unlucky intruder who decided to end her slumber was. And it was no other than-

"ORANGE! GET UP AND GET READY! WE OVERSLEPT!"

Blue. Her closest friend and partner in inky crime came to wake her up. Through squinted eyes, Oranges notices that he is wearing his usual attire instead of his pajamas-which was unlike him. He had dressed in his Turf War attire: consisting of his white shirt with a long sleeved black shirt underneath, his headphones were resting around his shoulders, and his. What had happened to his usually chill demeanor? And on top of that, when had he decided it was a good idea to wake her up by yelling? He knew how grumpy Orange could get when she woke up too soon.

As if door slamming and yelling wasn't enough, Blue then had the audacity came over to shake her awake. But after 15 seconds she hardly budged. So he just let out a frustrated sigh and let her body flopped back onto the bed.

"Fine, keep sleeping. But don't be crying and pouting later when you miss the train to one of the best Tournaments in history."

And just like that, he quickly slammed the door and his footsteps echoed until they could not be heard anymore. Orange could only groan as she turned onto the other side of the bed until her mind repeated several keywords.

….train? Overslept? Tournament?

…...…

In an instant, a flash of memories flew by: her friends coming back to their apartment, opening a letter with an intriguing design on it, the long silence that came with registering the letter's invitation, freaking out and celebrating with family and other friends, and also staying up late.

Really, really late.

They forgot one important detail in the letter. And that was the arrival of the train coming to pick them all up at 8 am.

"Oh, tentacles!"

Suddenly, the mess from under the bed shot up and threw off the covers. As Orange quickly fixed her bed, her pajamas were quickly thrown near her bags. She quickly searched her room for her Turf-War attire and found it resting on her desktop table.

After hastily putting on her clothes, she stuffed her pj's into her bags, grabbed her luggage, and slammed her bedroom door open. Outside, two inklings jumped as Orange came out-crashing into them and sending the contents of bags onto the floor. A few pieces of clothing and possessions landed on them.

"Orange! What the shell!", one of them exclaimed after shaking their heads. Orange gave a quick glance to her friends and was not surprised to see who it is. After all, out of all six of them these two were the more responsible bunch of the group.

The squid who had cursed at his friend was a male inkling who had a set of three tentacles that overlapped each other and resembled a slick layer look. He had green ink with soft, hot pink eyes. His skin was that of caramel and his attire consisted of a fluffy, long sleeved jacket with matching denim-like capri shorts. His brown military-like boots and dark, skull bandana stood out like sore thumbs against his vibrant colors.

Next to him was a squid who looked quite similar to Orange but had yellow hair with purple tips at the end of her tentacles. Her outfit consisted of a simple black hoodie, a dark gray shorts with yellow stripes on the sides, comfy black and yellow sneakers, and a pair of complex headphones resting around her neck. Another aspect was her eyes: though a mysterious blue shimmered at the outside, the inside showed a dull and soft blue-gray color. Giving any other passerby the universal hint that she is blind.

"Green? Who was that?", the yellow inkling asked as she squinted and adjusted her ears, attempting to figure out who scared them both.

Green started to pick up some of his friend's belongs and turned his head towards the inkling next to him. "It's Orange, Sunshine."

The inkling, Sunshine, merely blinked as she processed what Green said. Her ears twitched slightly and after a few seconds she quickly sniffed the air and smirked his way. It was the kind of smirk that screamed 'Told ya so'. Green could only twitch his ears in silent agreement.

"You overslept didn't you? I told you not to get too excited about this because then you wouldn't be able to sleep until later...", Sunshine said. All Orange did was groan and she quickly moved over to her friends, helping with their luggage.

"Don't rub it in my face right now, Sunshine", Orange replied meekly. She quickly shoved everything into Sunshine's bags and then returned to her bags. Sunshine merely rolled her eyes at the younger inkling's weak response.

Orange grumbled as she dragged her bags to the kitchen with Green and Sunshine right behind her. The beige wallpaper that they passed by reminded them of the apartment that would soon be empty for months to come. She swore she could feel her uneasiness radiating off of her body. That, or all the food she ate yesterday was giving her a bad time.

The kitchen soon came into view and the rest of the group was seen hastingly devouring their breakfast. Or, everyone was having cereal because there was no time to cook. Orange saw that Blue had already made it to the table, scarfing down the last of his cereal.

As soon as she made eye contact with her, he quickly gestures towards another cereal-filled bowl. She gave him a soft look of thanks as she speed walked over to the table and started scarfing down the unfortunate cereal.

As Orange ate, she heard a snore beside her. She turned to look and see one of the other older female inklings in her friend group, Cupcake.

Contrary to her name, she was one of the scariest inklings Orange has ever met (besides Sunny and Meelow). Cupcake may look like a stereotypical high school inkling, but her attitude and age states otherwise. Her vibrant purple color, school uniform, and squid hair pin doesn't help to add to her rather stoically angry attitude. Cupcake was as aggressive, if not more, so than Off The Hook's co-star Pearl herself. On top of that, Cupcake actually lets her feral squid side do most of the work during battles. That, and Cupcake doesn't take no ink from nobody.

So Orange just let her keep sleeping.

Once everyone was done, a hand suddenly slammed on the table; which got everyone's full attention at once. (And woke Cupcake up, who only let out a mouthful of inkling curse words.)

"All right everyone! Y'all ready?!`` Meelow yelled. Everyone merely nodded, some with food in their cheeks. Though one question was still bugging Orange. So she let her question be known.

"Who's going to care for the apartments?", Orange voiced her concerns. She didn't want to just leave the apartment empty as Inkopolis Plaza. She swore she heard Cupcake snort under her breath.

Boomer quickly made some hand signs and Meelow nodded. "Gelatina agreed to watch over our apartment while we're gone."

"Boomer's sweetheart?"

"Yup! We even clarified it with the landlord and he said it was cool!"

"Oh, okay".

At this moment, another presence made themselves known at the Kitchen entrance. Her translucent head bobbing every time she moved. Pale, yet gorgeous blue skin greatly contrasted with the apron that she was wearing. This simple creature wore a simple, pale yellow and green shirt with a bright lime skirt. A daisy pendant proudly shining on her wobbly head to finish off the simple fashion. Who was this creature?

Why...it was none other than a jellyfish.

When everyone was done with their plates, Jelatina started to walk over to the sink. Seeing this, Boomer gently tapped the table-which made Gelatina turn around-and quickly made some hand signals telling her to do it after they leave. She merely nodded. Comprehending the sign language her boyfriend's silent message.

Once everyone finished had their fill, they put their bowls in the sink. Meelow tapped the wooden kitchen door lightly, grabbing their attention. He had a warm smile on his face as he addressed the group.

"All right. Now is everyone ready?"

Heads bobbed.

"Good, then let's go."

* * *

Friends, family, and jellyfish were standing at the location already waiting for their loved ones. No doubt all of them wanting to say goodbye. Several fans of the group had also come to say their farewell. Among them, four familiar faces were standing out the most. And everybody instantly recognized them as Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters. ...Wait, was that Capn' Cuttlefish?

"Grampy!" Blue called out to the elder inkling as he wasted no time greeting him first. The other inklings took note of him and followed along to say a quick hello to the elderly inkling. Orange decided to stay behind, she wanted Capn' Cuttlefish to be the last inkling she said goodbye too.

She stood on her toes as she tried to see if her mom and siblings were there. However, Orange's ears slowly became droopy as she saw that her own family wasn't here. As much as wanted her mama and younger siblings to come see her off, she understood why they couldn't come. Maybe it's for the best…

So Orange just sucked up her sadness and happily went over to talk to Meelow's family. After all, Meelow was her babysitter for more than 10 years now. She might as well thank them for giving her the best babysitter and big-brother figure in the whole sea-flooded world. So that is what she did.

Until, a familiar scent was slowly flowing her nose and Orange stiffened a little when she saw two inklings coming her way. Though she would still be one of their fans (and Off The Hook's as well, she can't just pick between the two groups), it would never change the fact that their encouragement pushed her into doing the Smash Tournament. If only she had a little more space and time to m-.

"Hi Orange!", Callie joyfully greeted. Behind her was her cousin and partner of the Squid Sisters, Marie.

"Hey", Marie blatantly said with her trademark poker face.

"Hi girls," was all that came out of Orange's mouth as her ears twitched rapidly as she heard Meelow's mother and father excusing themselves to give the trio some space.

Callie took this a clue and wasted no time starting the conversation, "Are you excited for Smash?"

"Yeah. I'm excited."

Orange said with a smile, but her stomach and mind spoke otherwise. As much as she wanted to say goodbye to the Squid Sisters, she was hoping it would be quick. Well, maybe not that quick but she could give them a few minutes before she left for Cod only knows how long.

"I wonder how it's going to go," Orange said meekly. Shifting back and forth on the base of her soles.

Marie merely rolled her eyes with a small smile as she realized that the young squid was trying too hard to start a conversation before she went. It was obvious that the young squid was really nervous for the tournament. Orange was only 14, of course the young inkling would feel her ink pumping.

"You haven't even gotten there yet," Marie said cooly. She reached out to give a soft pat on the head but the young kid merely recoiled back in fear.

"But of course, there will be a ton of fighters," She saw Orange tense up. "Some of them will be around your age, after all the tournament doesn't measure by age. It measures by skill and experience so you're fine and stop fidgeting."

Orange blinked and looked down to see that she did grab the ends of her shirt out of reflex. She grinned sheepishly as she quickly waved her hands of any ink-sweat she had before. Her tentacles wrapped around her figure in slight embarrassment.

"Sorry, bad habit. But yeah! I'm sure that the other kids would be fun and fresh to hang around with! I heard that some of the previous fighters are coming back after not being qualified for the Fourth Tournament! Some of them were kids too!"

Callie let out a squeal of excitement, making Orange jump back slightly.

"Maybe one of the kids and you will get along! To the point where you'll finally find your soulmate! WHO KNOWS!? YOU COULD EVEN END UP WITH B-!"

At that moment, Marie harshly jabbed her cousin in the ink cage. Hard.

"OW! MarMar!? What was that for?"

The green Squid Sister merely cocked her head towards Orange and gave one final warning to her cousin in the form of a glare.

"Girls! Stop giving the lass claustrophobia and say goodbye!"

At that moment, the voice that made its presence known was walking towards them in the form of an elderly squid. Orange recognized that silly beard anywhere...though the outfit he was wearing was new.

"Awwww, alright. Bye Orange. Be sure to message us whenever you can! We want to know everything!"

"Heh, see ya. Like Callie said, and take care of yourself 'kay?"

The Squid Sisters gave Orange a hug and as she returned it, she felt tears coming to her face. Despite not wanting to see them too much before, she had hoped to stay with them a few more minutes. The hug lasted a few minutes before they let go and gave the newcomer and the young inkling some space.

"Lass, you should be happy. You and your friends got recognised for your efforts."

Orange felt a thumb wipe away her ugly mess of tears as she looked upon the inkling in front of her. Capn' Cuttlefish sure did know how to make an interesting entrance when he wanted to. His hat and set of clothes with his line of badges were replaced with a suit. No doubt given by Marie and Callie so that he could properly see the Inkling Team off to the Smash Tournament.

"But, it's also good to let out your emotions and express yourself. It isn't good for any cephalopods to hold their emotions inked in."

Orange messingly wiped her tears away, "Thanks grandpa. I know I kept crying recently but-"

Cuttlefish gave her a look, "Don't keep apologizing for how you feel, young'un. It's only natural to feel how you feel."

Orange sighed, knowing this was easier said than done. But she looked at Cuttlefish with a smile and asked, "And you? Are you going to be okay on your own? I mean, DJ Octavio might outgrow his snowglobe."

Cuttlefish let out a hearty laugh (and a few coughs), "Good to see you still have a sense of humor so far, lass. But I'll be alright, Fluffy will help me watch over him while my granddaughters and Off The Hook are busy."

At the mention of Sunny's boyfriend, Orange looked around as her group said their goodbyes to their loved ones: Boomer and Gelatina were both crying in a comedic looking hug (Gelatina was being held by Boomer so her leg tentacles were hanging off the ground), Green and Magenta were talking a bit with Marina and Pearl, and Blue, Cupcake and Meelow were talking with their respective families.

Her ears flopped down again as she realized that she really was going to miss everyone and every bit of her world. Even the abandoned Octo Valley. And, much to her surprise, Octavio.

"All aboard! Inklings from Inkoplpis and Ink Square please board the train!"

The sudden voice call from out of nowhere soon made more sense as a portal opened out of thin air. And out came a speeding train which suddenly skidded to a halt.

Orange leaned further forward to see where in all of the seven seas the portal had come from. But all she could see was a rainbowy outline followed by grass...and a mansion? Was it the Smash Mansion? The rainbow outlines were making it hard to see exactly where the train had come from.

Not only that, but the living being that came out of the railway engine door was...rather deformed, for a lack of a better word. They did not have any legs and seemed to have an abstract face: a rather, square face with a simple pair of eyes and nose(like really, really, simple-dots for eyes and curve lines for eyebrows). Clean cut hair and a small smile to go along with his...short and round hands.

Um, was this a first-generation, beta Mii Orange and her friends were told about in the letter? The one that would come to pick them up?

If so, he certainly dressed the part.

"ALL ABOARD! THE CONDUCTOR IS HERE TO PICK UP THE INKLINGS FROM INKOPOLIS! IF I CALL YOUR NAME, PLEASE COME!...Otherwise, we're going without you."

Annnnnnnnnnd he definitely acted like one.

Though Orange felt her eyes go wide and her hearts stopped. It was time.

"Sorry Grandpa, I have to go. Ask Callie and Marie how to use the Inkphone if you ever want to talk", Orange told Cuttlefish as she leaned over to pick up her backpack. As she got up, the old man gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Young Lass, please don't forget to have fun. You are young and should be enjoying your years. Not worrying over what you could have done or could be doing in the future."

Orange could almost feel the tears starting to come again as she took a shaky breath before answering, "Okay, Grandpa."

She gave him a hug and bid her farewell.

"Be careful okay. Don't hesitate to be sassy when the other fighters sass you", Sunshine's Octoling Lover, Fluffy, gently said to her as he brushed back one of her tentacles. Her cheeks had a soft yellow as a smug smirk came, "I already am sassy. Those seeing fishes won't know what hit them."

Everyone started to grab their things and finalizing their goodbyes before heading on the train. Once everyone got on the train, they all realized there was someone missing.

It took everyone gathered five seconds to realize Meelow was still saying goodbye to his family.

"Goodbye, Lila. *Kiss*

"Goodbye Sandy. *kiss

Goodbye Roger. *Kiss*

Goodbye Meo and Mea. kiss

Goodbye Al.

Goodbye Seaanna.

Goodbye Gela.

Goodbye Wave ..."

Orange playfully rolled her eyes. Meelow, no matter what kind of rush hour or situation the group of friends were in, he was always the last one to catch up. This is because out of all of them, he had nine siblings, two parents, five aunts and uncles, and a whole shellfull of cousins. All of whom came to say goodbye.

And while goodbyes were bittersweet…it would be nice if he rushed a bit.

"Young Sir! It would be best if you could finish soon!" The conductor had suddenly stepped outside to call Meelow. And just like any other walking being, failed because they didn't know that Meelow was deaf. So Orange did the best thing.

Orange went back and got next to the conductor. Who gave Orange a look of confusion.

"Young miss, what are you…?"

Orange held one hand on the door handle-she didn't want to take any chances if the train suddenly started-and harshly clapped the air several times with her tentacle hair. A few seconds later, Meelow shivered and turned around to see Orange making a hand gesture to get on the train. It was time to go.

Quickly kissing the last of his relatives, Meelow grabbed his luggage while laughing and jumped in. Orange got one of his bags, seeing as how he was carrying one too many, and in that same instant felt something hard, yet playful, slap her back. She nearly fell over as she heard, "Thanks sis! I almost forgot myself back there!"

Orange turned her head back to Meelow and offered the brightest smile that she could. She said 'Your Welcome' as slowly as she could. Once he read her lips, he smiled and walked over to the booths where the group was.

He was one of the few residents she looked up to as an older brother. Not too many Inklings were willing to play Turf Wars or other competitions with him after they found out he was deaf.

Although, every Octoling was willing to play with him.

And she really didn't want him to miss this tournament either. Although, maybe taking it easy was a bit too much to ask. Meelow insisted on coming whether the group liked it or not. He didn't want to miss this tournament for anything.

Orange headed back to the resting booth to see all of her friends already settled. Cupcake was talking with Green while Magenta was squishing Sunny's hair. Blue sat next to Boomer, who was typing stuff down in his Inkphone.

Orange took a seat and looked at her home one last time as the train slowly started to move. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see who it was.

Meelow was looking at her with resolve and comfort. He merely nodded as she started to tear up again.

Eventually she gave in, and leaned into Meelow's one arm embrace as the last of Inkopolis Square left their visions. She couldn't hold it in after all.

It took her awhile to stop crying, but then there were no more tears left to shed. Orange tried to give Meelow space but he refused to let go. So she settled into his embrace and felt very exhausted.

"All current passengers, be it Newcomers and Veterans, please be patient as we start to head towards other dimensions to pick up the other attendants."

Orange's ear twitched as she processed what she heard: everyone invited to the Smash Gathering would be coming on the same train. She wanted to sleep but excitement, nervousness, and sadness flooded her midsection.

What were the Smashers like? Would they be friendly? Do they still play their roles even when in the tournament?

Despite her shyness, Orange knew that this was going to be an interesting experience.

Maybe one she won't forget.

* * *

**And there it is! The end of chapter uno! I can barely contain my excitement at writing and posting it online to share with lovely readers such as yourselves! **

**And as much as I want to express my excitement, it will have to wait. Writing a chapter does take a while but I do have an idea of what to write after this scene (and maybe I will change the title if I can figure out something that sounds more appealing). But in the meantime: thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it and have a wonderful day!**

**EDIT 10/13/19: AHHHH! I realized just now that I forgot to mention that Boomer is the Indigo inkling while Meelow was the cyan inkling! Sorry for the confusion.**

**EDIT: 4/2/2020: Re-polished this chapter in case there were one or two questios.**


	2. Chapter 2: Looks Like A Long Road Ahead

**Hello everyone, EndlessCreativity here once again. Apologies for the late chapter despite my attempts to sticking with a schedule. I had to adjust to my new classes and staying at home a lot more. That and I did have artist's and writer's block for a while during December and a bit into January. But I managed to shake it off!**

**Reader Shoutout:**

**To Nicoliiie, thank you so much for enjoying the last chapter! I am really glad that you are liking the story! **

**Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Super Smash Bros. belongs to Masahiro Sakurai.**

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Chapter 2:

Looks Like It Is Going To Be A Long Road Ahead

The sun shone from above as it promised a day without rain or disaster. There was a cliff that stood so proudly next to its blue companion: the ocean. Below the cliff, the ocean waves lapped gently over and over again. On the meadows of the cliff, the flowers swayed too and fro in a peaceful rhythm. Ah yes, this day would definitely be a wonderful day.

And on this day stood a young boy with his father and grandfather. They had been living their lives to the fullest after the tragedy that struck the family all those years ago.

In front of them were two gravestones, each given a bouquet of sunflowers as an offering. One of the gravestones was starting to decay slightly, being placed three years before the other one. Yet the most beautiful sunflowers were blooming around the beaten gravestone. The second gravestone, while not as beaten or decaying, stood rather proudly as vines gently wrapped around it.

One of the visitors sighed sadly. It had been a long time since the passing of his dearly beloved. He could barely begin to comprehend how much time has passed since he saw his mother and brother. He really missed their loving embraces, their smiles and laughter, and he missed their presences as well.

Sometimes Lucas was surprised the world did not fully break him yet.

A dove suddenly cooed, getting the attention of the young boy. It flew around his head before landing on the older gravestone as they all watched. The dove looked flustered and seemed rather excited to see Lucas. He looked closely at the small, gray bird and saw that there was a letter tied around its neck. On the letter was a sealed stamp with a design that was all too familiar to him.

Lucas felt his body start to shake as he hoped for the best and quickly reached out. The dove landed on his hand and started to hop closer to him. Once the letter was in his hand, the dove immediately went to his shoulder, nuzzling his head.

"Lucas?", the firm but gentle voice of his father, Flint, called out. But the boy's full attention was on the letter in front of him.

The contents in the letter were as shown:

"_Congratulations Smash Veteran, You have been invited to the 5th Annual Super Smash Tournament! If you are ready and are willing to come this year, please prepare yourself and be ready to be picked up around 8 am in your universe's/dimension time code. No later than that, we will leave if you are late. Thank you!"_

Lucas blinked several times before he reread the contents of the letter to be sure that he was not hallucinating or that his PSI powers were taking a toll on his physical capacities. After reading it for the umteemth time, he looked back at the graves and let out a soft, small smile. He was going to go back for a third time...Lucas could feel his joy growing.

The young boy turned around, "I'm invited to the Smash Tournaments again!"

"Huh, no way!" Alec coughed his surprise while Flint merely smiled at the wonderful news.

His son would be going to the place where he belonged. Flint remembered when Lucas first got the letter.

...

_It had been about six months after Claus's death and the dragon's awakening. The civilians of Tazmily Village were almost done rebuilding their village. And while the folks were not as happy or carefree as they used to be, they were all the more wiser now. Since Kumatora and Duster were helping the citizens, Lucas took time to talk with Fuel and Nana while walking Boney. A dove had seemingly come out of nowhere and perched peacefully on Lucas's head._

_The boy had jumped and panicked at first, surprised that the bird suddenly landed on his hair. That was, until Nana pointed out that there was a letter with a weird drawing around the dove's neck. _

_Curious, Lucas calmed down and gently extended his arm for the dove to perch on. After the dove got settled on his hand, it hopped a couple of times. At first, the children thought that maybe it was going to talk or do something spectacular. Though following the hopping, the dove managed to get the tied letter off of its neck and in its mouth._

_It then fluffled up its feathers and bowed its head while extending the letter towards Lucas. Who in turn, cautiously grabbed the letter and put the dove on his shoulder. Fuel, Nana, and Boney were immediately at Lucas's sides as the boy shakingly opened the letter._

_A few moments later, Flint and Alec later heard the children's excited yells with Boney's barking as they returned towards the village's new foundations. _

…

And after that, well...everything else was history. Lucas went to the 3rd-Smash Gathering in sad tears but returned with the biggest smile on his face. It greatly warmed Flint's heart knowing that Lucas was still able to enjoy life whenever he could. Especially after having to bear responsibility and go through so much in a couple of years. He was still too young. Lucas should be enjoying his youth and living his years learning how to live life to the fullest.

And that was all he wanted: for his son to be happy.

A deep breath took Flint out his thoughts as he watched his son recollect himself and wipe away his tears.

Lucas took another deep breath. It would soon be time to come back to his other home.

"Mom, Claus. I'm going back to the Smash Gatherings!"

Lucas swore he felt his mother and brother's presence.

* * *

The scenematic portal was beautiful but it did little to calm Orange's nerves as she watched the colors go by.

Orange felt her stomach go uneasy again. Her mind attempted to be empty but one thought brought a thousand more. She started fidgeting with her hands in a restless rhythm. The ends of her tentacles gripped her shirt and started to twist.

And Blue opened his mouth to say something but then Meelow cut him off.

"Hey, Sis…", Orange turned to look at Meelow, who had an unusually serious face, "Don't worry, there's plenty of time to enjoy yourself and have fun. This time, we're going somewhere new and...there will be no secrets. You're starting off fresh this time...pun intended~."

Orange took one good look into his eyes and nodded, an unsure feeling going into her stomach as she bit her lips. Meelow had a small, gentle small and ruffled the top of her head, making her laugh.

Shortly after, she let out a yawn. Letting out all of her tears made her really tired. Orange wanted to see the first destination but her eyelids felt heavier than usual.

Out of old habits, Meelow started to lean back into the booth. His muscles relaxed as he felt Orange shift her position to rest her head on his leg. And just like that, she was asleep within a few seconds. It had been a few years since they did this. He remembered when she was a little squidling. She was the cutest little squishy thing he had ever seen. That was, until his siblings came along.

Blue gave Meelow a dirty look for cutting him off before having the chance to talk. Meelow quickly shot him a death-glare while slightly raising his thin frame with a low vibrational growl, which immediately silenced the younger inkling. But not before sending a furious glare at the oldest inkling.

Good. It would do Blue a favor to know when and where the right time to speak is. The boy sometimes didn't know how to read the atmosphere at times, which was something he needed to work on. It had gotten him into trouble before. And of course, being the leader (and the occasional big brother) of his team, Meelow had to get him out of certain situations.

Once he was sure Blue would not try to speak out of impulse, Meelow once again sank back into the booth. He felt his shoulders and back start to stiffen out of stress and pressure of the trip. Sometimes being the eldest came with a lot of responsibilities that not too many Inklings wanted. Looking out for everyone's mental, physical, and emotional health (including his own), pray that nothing bad happens to any members of the team, setting the better example for the younger generation, taxes, jobs, and a bunch of other adult stuff that in the end, really didn't make sense to Meelow.

Sure, he may be twenty-four, but that was nothing compared to how long other Cepha-lings and other sea creatures have lived. Everyone is living a different life, Meelow was all too familiar with this. He was born deaf. Never given the chance to hear more of the beautiful sounds of the world he was born into.

Well, maybe he could have heard more of it if he had taken better care of the hearing aide he received as a gift of gratitude. Now he will never hear what the Smash Fighters sound like as well. Or hear his teammates happy cries with their future friends during the tournaments or celebrations. Meelow felt his tentacles curl out of despair and his free hand gripped the leather seat in rage.

The rage that he felt almost brought tears to his eyes until he felt Cupcake's stare. She was giving him the 'look', despite her hair covering her eyes. At this, he took a deep breath and felt sleep hanging heavily at his eyelids.

Might as well enjoy a good nap before meeting the fighters.

And just like that, he crashed into the world of dreams.

* * *

"All passengers on board! Please be prepared to welcome and meet the New Fighter joining us soon!"

Blue woke up with a start.

"What the shell!", He had a great dream until he was rudely awakened. While fuming slighly, he felt something soft slowly fall.

Blue looked down. On his lower figure was a pastel green blanket.

"Huh."

Even the others had blankets on them. All with a different pastel-like color.

Speaking of color, the scenery outside looked darker and more solid. There seemed to be what looked like buildings.

Blue quickly came to a conclusion.

They were in another dimension.

* * *

The city looked much like Inkopolis, only less...flashy? In fact, it looked pretty…

Depressing. There were no flashing colors, no happy music blasting in the background, hardly any colorful buildings and nobody was in sight. Maybe she was wrong, after all it was night time in the dimension. The city could be more joyous in the morning.

But before she let her thoughts wander any more a group of shadows came out from hiding. All of them unseeable, but if one were to guess there were probably about seven figures (maybe eight) coming out. Though Orange could see that they were taller than the Inking group. After all, they look a bit like Moray Towers on a good day.

Like the Inklings, the group also said farewell with hugs, fists bumps and possibly words of encouragement. Afterwards, one of the figures started walking towards the train. The way that the figure was walking was slightly slouching and with a hidden sass in their stride.

When the figure was close, something shot out from the dark but Orange paid it no mind.

It was probably a rat-except slightly bigger.

The Conductor had already opened the door and happily greeted them. Although, she saw the taller figure jump from surprise at first before they both bowed.

Orange wondered how the Conductor's hands worked if he had no fingers or thumbs.

"Welcome, young sirs! I do hope that you find your time at the 5th Annual Smash Gathering a wonderful delight!"

...Wait, 'sirs'? But there's only one person-or entity, whatever-that got on the train? How can there be more than one? Orange did not see anyone other than the Mii Conductor and the taller figure.

"Thank you, I'm sure we will," the owner of the newcomer said as they got on. And from the tone of the voice, they sound young and are most likely a dude. A young man who would probably be a young teenager or adult at most. Maybe he was a Smash Veteran-

"Meowww!" A ...cat? On all fours? It had jumped on the top of the booth seats and looked around. Eventually its eyes landed on the Inklings. It then turned around to the front door and started to bounce in place. Creating all kinds of cute cat noises.

"Mow! Mrrow! Meooooow! Meorrrrrw!" Orange could only stare in confusion at this small feline. Since when were cats this energetic? And what has this cat gotten excited about? Was this the Smasher that would be facing against her and her team?

"Alright, alright Morgana. I'm coming, and what do you mean by 'actual furries-slash-scalies'?"

The shadow that was outside was not a weird deity with multiple heads (although that would have been cool). But instead, a tall, young man who looked oddly like an inkling-minus the pointy ears-and much taller. His fluffy short hair and roundish glasses oddly matched the outfit he was wearing.

It had an odd aesthetic to it: a long-sleeved, red-buttoned, black blazer with a rather _depressing _school emblem was resting on his left chest (right from where she was sitting). Pants that were plaid with red, white, and what Orange guessed was onyx-colored, or dark-ish gray in simpler terms. Black leather shoes seemed to finish off the 'emo' look. That, and why was he wearing a white turtleneck?

It did not match his beautifully handsome face at all.

…

What?

Meelow being the ever friendly inkling, jumped up from his seat to greet the young teen.

"Heya! How are ya?"

The young human blinked at the eldest inkling in a calm surprise, eyebrows raised.

"Hehe, happy to meet you as well. My name's Ren Amimaya, and my fluffy companion who is jumping all over the place is Morgana. And you all are?"

Meelow merely reached his hand out with an ecstatic excitement.

"Meelow, you'll remember me soon enough! I'm the Inkling who doesn't shut up! You'll know what I mean in a few seconds! Now come on, I'll introduce you!"

Ren nearly fell over from the force of excitement that was Meelow as he half-dragged him to the group. He took a good look at the Inkling group as he got closer.

Boy, he would be lying if he said that they didn't look like a colorful group. Literally. The whole rainbow of colors must have been here.

There were what Ren assumed to be three ladies and two other male Inklings. They were rather intriguing and aesthetically appealing to admire. All of them had a varying aura, vibe, air, age, and even a varying weight to them. Each of them had a unique color for their 'hairs' and eyes, which made Ren jealous. He wishes he could change his hair color and back without ever worrying about ruining his young hair. (That, and the other aspect he cursed his human body for was flexibility).

As Ren came closer, most of the group jumped up to greet him. Especially the dark purple (or was it indigo?) and hot pink Inklings. The way they practically hopped from their seats just to greet him reminded him of Meelow. They both shook his hands at a rather rapid and hyper energy that Ren had to regain himself as Morgana jumped onto his shoulders snickering. The green and purple Inklings calmly introduced themselves, and then led the yellow Inkling to him. Right away, Ren subcounsciously knew that she was blind when she started tracing his face and was polite in introducing himself.

He also took note that this one twitched her ears a lot more than her friends. She also sniffed him from where she was standing, to which Morgana went to bump noses with her. She was calm, despite having a wet nose rub against her own. It made Ren wonder if Inklings have wet noses or not, he would have to ask either Meelow or Green. Seeing as how they don't seem like the types to be offended by a human's curiosity. And if the Inkling 'hair' was soft, squishy, and smooth to the touch.

The blue Inkling...well, Ren could tell he was trying a bit too hard to be polite without staring so much. He did offer a big, genuine smile to Ren when he introduced himself. Showing that he was not afraid to 'get out there' by any means. He was a bit stiff though; and seemed to zone out thinking of Ren's human heritage for at least two to three seconds before snapping out of it. All Ren could do was offer a fistbump in an attempt to break the ice. He knew that the kid was holding back some of the self-confidence that radiated before introductions.

One of the Inklings did not introduce themselves. Which was okay, Ren knew that not everyone would be able to introduce themselves right away. Just as he was about to put Morgana back in his bag-

"HUH! You have a cat?!"

All eyes turned to the corner of the seating booth. Or more specifically, the Inkling who was trying to hide herself into the train's side window by squishing herself. Ren could not take his eyes off of her as he watched the Cepaling attempt every possible way to make herself look smaller. Her natural orange scheme and outfit did not help her to blend in with the train's interior design at all.

Then again, she already stood out...um, ahem, weight wise.

"Wow," he started, his brain failing to come up with any proper words at the moment, "you are really squishy."

Immediately, the group sent him a warning look, making Ren recoil. It was agreed among the group that nobody has to mention anything about Orange's weight. That was one of the more meticulous details about her that she was _highly_ subconscious of.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Orange just snorted as she tried to hold back laughing.

"You're not the first living creature to say that," the Inkling mused as she finally got her composure settled, "but you are the first human to say it to me."

This girl...she felt rather...friendly if Ren took a better look at her. Out of all of them, she looked the youngest-or at least, Ren assumed that much. She certainly did not look sleep-deprived as Meelow, Cupcake, or Boomer. It is either that, or she is good at hiding all of her worries and stress under her Inkling 'hair'.

Speaking of which, Ren wondered if the Inkling 'hair' was soft, squishy, and smooth to the touch. It was very tempting to reach out and see if his assumptions were right. Though, he held himself by scratching Morgana under his chin and petting his soft, luxurious, silky fur. Morgana only purred in response.

Maybe he can ask Meelow, considering that he looked like the oldest of the group. He seemed really friendly, maybe Ren could ask him for some advice on how to better his fighting techniques. Ren really could learn something new from all the Fighters he had and had not met. If that-no..._when_ that happens, he could teach it to his friends. The Phantom Thieves could use some new techniques to resharpen their senses.

He wondered how old some of the Fighters were. Maybe they were around his age like the Inklings. Some might be wise beyond their years. He certainly hoped that there weren't any toddlers. Ren was not too sure how he was going to explain to his friends that he had to beat up babies-

Wait.

Does this mean Ren is going to call him 'Big Bro' the more he gets to know him?

* * *

"Lucas, come on! You really don't know what to pack?"

Rope Snake had never slithered so fast after word had spread that Lucas was invited to the Fifth Smash Gathering. He was so excited that he forgot to ask Duster if he would be alright when he goes! Then again, Duster was actually happy that Rope Snake was asked to be Lucas's companion, partner, amigo, and partner in crime once again. He was just glad that he could be of some use to somebody who was so young.

"I have an idea of what to bring...," Lucas started, "but I am wondering if I should bring more shirts, shorts, or Mr. Saturns?! They always ask if the entire village from our world can go…"

"THIS IS YOUR THIRD TIME GOING! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD KNOW!?"

Rope Snake threw up his tail and head in frustration as he fell back on the Boney shirt Lucas neatly folded (a gift from the Mr. Saturns. Rope Snake did not bother asking how the smart little creatures even designed the shirt given their lack of arms/hands). He really enjoyed going to the Smash Gatherings with Lucas. Even with some experience, Lucas could be indecisive when it comes to certain choices. Not that Rope Snake blamed him, Lucas was still a teenager (at least in their dimension, Ness's dimension is a different story). Rope Snake could do without some of the Fighters in Smash though. Especially Kirby and the youngest of Bowser's Koopa Kids. They were a real pain in the scales.

"Look, I will help you. Just take this, that, that, that, that-"

"_BARK!_"

"Not you! And this," Rope Snake lifted the shirt he was laying on seconds ago.

Boney had come over and made his presence known as he padded over and rested his head on Lucas's head. He whined as he saw the state of clothes all over the room. The young boy could only pet the dog in reassurance. Rope Snake huffed rather quickly and slithered up Lucas's arm.

"Lucas~", Rope Snake started as the boy looked at him eye-to-eye, "it'll be alright. Just pick out some of the stuff I randomly pointed out for you."

Lucas could only stare back at Rope Snake before averting his gaze to the mess that was in front of the trio. Rope Snake saw out of the corner of his eyes that Boney had heard something distinct. It was not long until the sound of a door opened and heavy footsteps made themselves known to the house. Boney rose up from the young boy's lap to go and greet his original owner. Rope Snake merely bowed his head in respect with a quick hello.

Lucas felt his neck hairs rise as his father's footsteps stopped echoing around the house. The house used to have a unique echo years ago when all five of them had a full house. Next thing they knew...it was just Lucas and Flint and Boney, then Lucas and Boney, then Lucas and Boney and Flint again. And soon, it would just be Flint and Boney again. It became routine after being invited by Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Though, it was not easy despite Lucas's frequent invite.

Lucas had a feeling that his dad wanted to talk or discuss something important with him; especially if he did not mention anything about the state of the room. The young boy shifted his position so that he was resting his head on his knee. There was nothing but silence and it slowly got thicker with each passing second. Lucas felt his mind buzzing with all kinds of scenarios and words that he would like to say to his dad. Yet, he subconsciously bit his tongue.

He did not know what to say to his dad.

Though, it would not be the first time that this kind of thing happened. The thick silence also happened after the Dragon woke up and restarted their world. Lucas could not quite forgive his dad for leaving him alone with Boney for three years, especially after his mother's death. Flashes of learning how to cope with all the negativity at a young age flashed through his mind. The mornings where his dad's absent presence would still haunt him for a year after Claus's death. Sometimes Lucas woke up and still expected his father to leave an empty bed. It was all a cruel reminder of what Lucas and his dad used to have in a much simpler time.

Lucas never fully forgave his father...but maybe he will understand what his dad went through if he ever has kids of his own in the future. Then maybe...just maybe, he could move on with his life.

"Lucas..", the young boy felt his neck hairs rise at his father's raspy but gentle and firm voice, "still having trouble packing up?"

No response came. The silence got thicker by the second.

...But a sigh finally broke the silence as Lucas dove his head into his hands and over his hair, "Yeah, dad. I am still having trouble picking out my luggage."

Flint only gave out a hearty chuckle as he came over and sat down next to his son. It was obvious that Lucas was debating which clothes and what to bring with him again. Although, Lucas was looking forward to being invited to the big event again. He remembered days where Lucas and Boney would go all around town or stand on the cliff near the Beach, eagerly awaiting the dove to come.

Flint almost chuckled as he remembered Lucas's face whenever he came home slightly disappointed with no letter. Other days, Lucas would just stare at his Mother's and Claus's graves for hours at end (it was almost as if Lucas was giving an apology to them every time he visited; Flint's heart broke every time he heard Lucas say that he and Boney went to the sunflower kissed graveyard). And most of the days, Lucas would actually ask Flint, Kumatora, Duster, or even Boney to keep his brawling skills sharp. He remembered when Lucas used to hate fighting. Those days are gone now...time sure passes by quickly.

"Um, dad….could you help me pick some of the clothes out?", Lucas bashfully requested.

"Of course."

Without missing a heartbeat, both of them got up. There was a more comforting and relaxed silence as all four of them picked up all the crumbled shirts and shorts.

Flint smiled, Lucas was really growing up fast. He was about half Flint's height now!

Claus and Hinawa would have been proud…

"Come on", Flint said after folding the last shirt and putting on top of the other folded shirts, "let's go ask the Mr. Saturns if all of them want to come this time."

Lucas could not hold back his laugh.

* * *

**Annnnnnnnnnd that's all for now! While this chapter did take a little longer to make, I really enjoyed typing out some of the scenes. Though I had to really consider what each and every character was going to say. Along with already having an idea for a later scene in the chapter-typing it out, and then I would have to go back and see how Scene A can eventually get to Scene D or Scene G.**

**Again, apologies for the chapter being late. **

**Until then, stay safe, wash your hands, eat healthy, and have an amazing day!**


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